FARM DRUDGERY: A MYTH 43 



Cows 728 hours, average fourteen a week, the 

 year round. This is not all spent at the rate of an 

 hour each morning and night. Milking and feeding 

 the cows alone does not consume the entire chore 

 hour. It allows time for cleaning the barns, taking 

 the cows to be bred, hauling corn to the mill in win- 

 ter, and so on. 



Poultry 104 hours. He feeds and waters the chick- 

 ens in the morning, and waters them at night, in the 

 chore hour. Other poultry chores caring for the grow- 

 ing stock, collecting eggs, etc. are done by Mrs. Tet- 

 low and myself. The major share of the man's two 

 hours a week is taken up with cleaning the laying 

 house and in butchering. 



Pigs and sheep 208 hours. A little of this is used 

 in the chore hour, most of it in cleaning, in veterinary 

 and breeding work, and in butchering. 



Lawn-mowing 78 hours. Say, three hours a week 

 for six months. Some years dry weather cuts this down. 

 A good growing summer will run it up. It would al- 

 ways be possible to cut it down permanently by reduc- 

 ing the lawn area. 



Cleaning, running errands, painting, and other 

 strictly household tasks 104 hours. Probably an un- 

 derestimate. The average, on a basis of two hours a 

 week, would be about one hour a week in summer, 

 three in winter. 



Woodcutting 52 hours. This is all winter work. 

 Firewood, fence posts, and other timber requirements 

 are anticipated, to make it so. 



Haying 26 hours. Since hay harvesting is a job 

 for outside contract labor and equipment, my man's 

 part in it is only that of an extra hand at pitching and 

 stowing. 



